Wednesday, September 13, 2017

BATTLE OF THS SEXES REPLAYED ON SCREEN

In 1973 Billie Jean King, 29, was the top women's tennis player in the world and Bobby Riggs, 55, was a former champion, having won both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

While King was campaigning for women's equality Riggs was insisting women's place was in the kitchen and the bedroom.

Their on-court confrontation in an exhibition match at the Houston Astrodome was dubbed the Battle of the Sexes and became a social debate that rang around the world. It was watched by 90 million television viewers.

Talking Battle of the Sexes with Emma Stone

Now a new film, Battle of the Sexes, recreates that epic match with Oscar winner Emma Stone playing King and Steve Carell as the bombastic Riggs.

Billie Jean King, now 73, was on hand as a consultant and was with Stone at the Toronto film festival where the film had its premiere. Riggs died in 1995 aged 77.

Stone, who in the movie looks uncannily like the way King looked back then but in real life is nothing like her, says: "The match was a true historical event and obviously Billie Jean is an icon forequality and LGBTQ rights and she's effected so much change in the world so it's really wonderful to tell this story about someone whose shoulders we stand on.

"But on the other hand it's really disheartening that a lot of the themes in the film are still an ongoing struggle today. There's still a massive amount of inequality and lack of equal pay across all industries."For the record, King won the match 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.